One of the great debates surrounding the top edge rushers available in the 2025 NFL draft centered around Production vs. Potential.
In the end, as it often does, potential won out. Of the four edge rushers taken in the first round, only one of them had a double-digit sack total in 2024 with No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter to the New York Giants.
While the physical tools required of an NFL edge rusher almost always dictate potential will win the day, eventually you have to produce. It’s the reason why the Dallas Cowboys ended up with former first round pick Payton Turner on the 1-year, $2.5 million free agent contract he signed on March 11.
Turner, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, still might have breakout star potential after 4 disappointing seasons with the New Orleans Saints. If the Cowboys can tap into some of what made Turner so enticing to begin with, they might end up with one of the offseason’s great steals.
The most motivated person to make this happen should be Turner, who is just 26 years old and could be in line for a major payday — or at least one more contract — if he plays well.
“Will a return to the state of Texas and a chance to work as a rotational player behind (Micah) Parsons and the Cowboys’ collection of talent allow Turner to progress after his first fully healthy campaign?” USA Today’s K.D. Drummond wrote on May 25. “Turner will enter the 2025 training camp as the likely sixth edge rusher in the Cowboys’ depth chart. The Cowboys also signed former No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler as a free agent, and he’s coming off a 10-sack season in his one year with Washington.”
Turner Can Dominate With Elite Physical Tools
Turner, 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, played his way into the first round with 5.0 sacks in just 5 games for the University of Houston during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
While injuries decimated Turner’s first 3 seasons in the NFL — he played just 13 games in that stretch — those problems were for shoulder and turf toe issues and didn’t involve significant structural damage.
In 2024, Turner played in 16 out of 17 games with career highs for tackles (21), sacks (2.0), forced fumbles (2) and pass deflections (4).
Hardest Battle for Turner: Making 53-Man Roster
We will know pretty quickly if Turner has what it takes to make a breakthrough in 2025 by if he’s even able to crack the 53-man roster.
Currently, he’s buried on the depth chart behind Micah Parsons and Marshawn Kneeland on one side of the defense.
On the other side, Fowler is slated to start opposite Parsons. Fowler is backed up by 2025 second round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku, who had 16.5 sacks last season at Boston College.
There’s probably not a universe in which the Cowboys keep 6 edge rushers — they might not even keep 5. That means Turner will likely have to beat out a pair of former second round picks in Kneeland and Sam Williams.
Kneeland played in 11 games with 1 start in 2024 and didn’t register a sack. Williams had 8.5 sacks across 32 games his first 2 seasons but didn’t play in 2024 after he tore his ACL during training camp.
